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With the purpose of laying the foundations for a critique of sociological reason and making a contribution to shedding light on the relationship between Marxism and sociology, in this paper a set of problematic points of Esteban Torres' La gran transformación de la sociología is addressed. The analysis is divided into three moments. First, the idea of sociology that is used by the author is criticized, challenging by that the bases or foundations of Torres' broader intellectual work plan. In a second step, the conception of Marxism that is defended by the Cordovan academic is assessed, identifying the existing differences between the contribution of Capital's author and the aforementioned social science. As a corollary of both operations, some conclusions are drawn, stating that what must to be done is not to transform sociology but to abandon it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the significance and the challenges of various decolonized practices in research and in social science training methods in Mexico and, particularly, in Chiapas, based on a Latin American approach to the field of studies conducted by intellectuals and activists involved in social movement struggles. We analyze different forms of intercultural dialogues used in decolonizing research in terms of social, ethnic and gender relationships, according to the contexts and the knowledge production of popular and indigenous movements facing politics, education and epistemic racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper compares the commuicative definitions of “the social” proposed by Niklas Luhmann and Jürgen Habermas from a systematic perspective. From the results reached, the reciprocal receptions between the authors are discussed and a renewed theoretical interpretation of divergences and convergences is proposed. The hypothesis of the work states that Habermas and Luhmann, based in the concept of communication, converge in a radically dyadic and multi-leveled conception of the sociological analytical unit, however they diverge in its analytical segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has been structured in three areas. In the first one, the author shows the relevance that words and conversations among individuals have on social research, both terms being very important to the well-known sociologist and writer Franco Ferrarotti. In the second part, the author explains the necessary qualitative methodology to be used when analysing a main topic. In the third one, the author analyses the reality of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from the gender perspective to detect if they are or not a reflection of that Spanish reality regarding sex discrimination. Finally, this paper states the challenge the Spanish society needs to face to outweigh sex inequality without excluding the NGOs or any other form of association. This paper calls for the involvement of society, which along with the state and market, has an important task to accomplish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the traditional approach to the sociology of science based upon Karl Mannheim's sociology of knowledge. Robert Merton's program is discussed as the basis of sociology of science. Furthermore, Kuhn is acknowledged as having set up the foundation for a new paradigm in the sociology of science. This paper intends to defend the work of Kuhn as the framework by which other current studies in the social sciences under the name of «sociologies of scientific knowledge» have come about. Finally, several key pedagogical issues taken from the traditional sociology of science as argued by Merton are discussed. It has been found that pedagogy in terms of sociology of science has closely followed the framework used by the other social sciences. Several advances and achievements that have recently made some headway are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been, in the last decades, a bunch of different authors claiming the convenience of describing the most basic elements of current societies as fluids. As a consequence of this proposal, it began the construction of a theoretical model of social fluidity that still needs more accuracy and development. This paper, which is just the first half of a propaedeutic work, trays to build the necessary grounds for the empirical implementation of afore mentioned theoretical model. We start by reviewing the main concepts used by the so called "Theories of Complexity" in modelling complex processes in other scientific fields. Then we point out the limits that may be found in using these theories when modelling the specific complexity of current social fluidity. Finally we discuss how such concepts should be modified and developed in order to be useful in the context of a theory of social fluidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to employ the sociological notions of Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu to transcribe the production and reproduction of Modern Capitalist Laxv in terms of exercise of power and domination. The path to do this is to show how domination and symbolic violence are exercised through moral, scientific knowledge and construction of identity, displaying the arbitrariness and exclusion of alternative practices and subjects which underlies its pretended universality and impartiality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper will try to explain the difficulty based on the polisemic nature of the notion of complex systems and its broadly used in diverse disciplines such as: Physics, Biology, Sociology, Economics, and Social Psychology, and Clinic Psychology, due to the indetermination and the difficulty for its terminological use for the evaluation of social organizations, and other type of systems or webs, like natural systems, or animal, because this objects, are of different nature because of the language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper tries to make an approach to the sociological interpretation of public management. The analysis is made from a stance of social commitment that demands, first, a critical reflection on elitism as an expression of instrumental rationality in organizations high-level management and, second, a re-assessment of the role played by epistemology in building new knowledge in this field. The fulfillment of these two demands has allowed the identification of main guidelines, goals and principles, as well as some epistemological sources and backgrounds, which, with a greater effort, could build new knowledge with the characteristics of management sociology. The result paves the way to an innovative scientific sub-discipline, by means of some models and perspectives that will allow, inside sociology, the study of trends, contradictions and changes in a managerial action, linking scientific with ethic-political. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on the congress of American Sociological Association in San Francisco, California, in August 2004. To reflect on congresses and exhibitions is a sociological work since, in addition to the information that they provide on the development of the profession of sociologist, they have a symbolic considerable impact. Already before the globalization, several professional North American affiliations turn into the international affiliations of the discipline. What is discussed in the San Francisco congress has so many relevancy for Spain as the Eighth Spanish Congress of Sociology, in September, 2004 in Alicante, Spain. The majority of the specialties coincide. Some papers and debates are similar. The methodological problems are also common in both the congresses. The ideas that they discuss in the world, fortunately, already do not diminish to a geographical national ambience. Almost two hundred specific sessions with written communications have been distributed.

The present paper tries to measure the journalist's initiative, where it's considered to express himself more freely, in order to accomplish two goals: on one hand, update data about his consideration, status and professional self esteem; on the other hand, discover new challenges he presently confronts, consequence of recent organization schemes inside newsrooms. With this in mind, it's suggested that initiative of that particular professional profile should express more spontaneously within newsrooms, side by side with other professional profiles, where it should acquire more entity and character. Research observation has centred in newsrooms, focusing in daily communication processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]